This cosmic fairly tale is concentrated
in every system,beyond mere flamboyant flabberghastliness.
The beelzebamboozling is
distributed in strictly determined
proportions among the atmospheres
. @ 43:00 min. The doctrines of
devils: "Ezekiel's Brass Feet fooled
me and I thought thems were
the cloven hooves!!!At least St. Peter
Cottontail's Crown Of Thorns
got here just in time for
the Easter Bunny! Hope i
still gets them golden eggs
without the yolks in
the middles!!!"

Hessien usually occurs somewhere between the UK and Australia, somewhere between the hours of 11pm and 6am (Southern Hemisphere) & 9am and 8pm (Northern Hemisphere) Hessien is made up of acoustic noise artist Charles Sage (Australia) and Tim Diagram (UK). They collided through a coincidence and were pleased to note that the collision has produced an EP – ‘Skurjn’, which was released on 29th January.

The musical content is acoustically-challenged, inverted and lo-fi, an amalgamation of tanglible styles, pedal-work and mangled, modern conversions that combine the audible landscapes into one bigger image. Each song has been constructed from live workings and sketches of sound and field recordings, stitched together with fine acoustic thread and broken down into less accessible fragments to be built up again into mutual timings and compositions.

Helios - Eingya by _typeKeith Kenniff mustn’t sleep at all, after releasing the incredible Goldmund album ‘Corduroy Road’ for Type early in 2005 he was already busy at work crafting his second record as Helios; all this while finishing a degree at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston. ‘Eingya’ is very different from his work as Goldmund, as it incorporates not only his piano playing, but his delicate touch on guitar, drums and his masterful electronic production. It is an album of wordless songs, eleven carefully measured movements, each holding inside it an entire movie’s worth of emotion.

Beginning the album on a high with the pastural beauty of ‘Bless This Morning Year’ we witness a showcase already of what Kenniff does best; hearbreaking guitar and piano melodies punctuated by crumbling beats and backed by the most atmospheric synthesizer sounds this side of Eno’s ‘Apollo’. Moving on we are treated to the appetising ‘Halving the Compass’ which blends subtle field recording with the kind of piano melodies so beautiful they could be compared to Virginia Astley or Harold Budd. This is followed by the album’s clear highlight – ‘Dragonfly Across an Ancient Land’; an unsurpassable folk guitar piece with a decomposing percussive background and the sort of melodies that would turn evil tyrants into weeping babies. An album which could as easily appeal to fans of Nick Drake as fans of Boards of Canada or even early Air; this truly has something for everyone.

Ryan Teague - Coins & Crosses by _typeAfter releasing the critically acclaimed ‘Six Preludes’ EP on Type Records in 2005, eyes were looking to young British composer Ryan Teague to see where he would take his sound next. Indeed, he referenced the EP release himself as merely preludes, so he clearly had plans to make an extra special effort for the imminent full length. In doing so he enlisted the help of a full orchestra; the renowned Cambridge Philharmonic with conductor Tim Redmond, as well as harpist Rhodri Davies who is best known for his work with the Cinematic Orchestra. Working with these key elements, Teague had the chance to compose without the limitations usually set on electronic composers and has ended up producing something truly timeless.

Opening with the short introduction piece ‘Introit’ the album quickly gets moves up a gear with the title track ‘Coins and Crosses’, a fabulous representation of Teague’s intense production skill and Rhodri Davies’ peerless harp-work. The result comes across like Alice Coltrane blended seamlessly with Steve Reich and is one of the high points of the record, perfectly realising Teague’s grand vision. On producing the album Teague noted that his primary influences were early sacred music and mysticism, but instead of moving towards the obvious dark mystery associated with these subjects he has interpreted them as moving, emotional and affirmative.

When the album’s centrepiece; the entirely orchestral ‘Fantasia for Strings’ appears at the halfway mark it is impossible not to be floored. A wholeheartedly moving epic which would not sound out of place juxtaposed with the cinematic imagery of Kieslowski or Bergman, this is where Teague’s compositional skills flourish absolutely. Although he is equally at home blending electronic elements with orchestral sounds, ‘Fantasia’ shows he has exactly what it takes to compose competently without the aid of electronics whatsoever.

As the album draws to a satisfying close with the rousing harp-led ‘Rounds’, you realise that you have been taken on a grand voyage. Each track tells a different part of an epic story taking you though waves of passionate energy and emotion, and like all the best films you will want to go through that journey time and time again.

This has been a year of thinking a lot of about the future while trying not to get consumed by those thoughts. I have concerned myself with the unseen world around us like radio waves, the wind, and events that are happening in other places. It is more or less trying to realize the world beyond our own bodies.
http://www.archive.org/compress/CYC-015